Washroom unit



June 7, 1960 Filed DeC. 28, 1956 G. W. WYANT 2,939,755

wAsHRooM UNIT4 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /NVENTOR G. W. WynNr G. W. WYANT WASHROOM UNIT June 7, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 28, 1956 United States Patent WASHROOM UNIT Gerald W. Wyant, 4343 Mayfair Ave., Montreal, Quebec, Canada Filed Dec. 28, 1956, Ser. No. 631,208

1 Claim. (Cl. S12-245) This invention relates to self-contained washroom units and particularly to washroom units for use in such public washrooms as in stations, hotels, garages, service stations, etc. where the public has access without the direct supervision of the owner of the establishment.

The invention consists essentially of a wall mounted cabinet in which the mounting of the cabinet is concealed within a shallow wall chamber fronted by a mirror and access to which can only be eiected through a locked dispensing cabinet located below the mirror. The dispensing cabinet contains all the essentials required in a washroom and these essentials can be freely obtained from the cabinet in dispensible quantities while the bulk of the essentials and their individual containers or dispensers are preserved from damage or looting under the same lock and key isolating the mounting of the cabinet on the wall. In addition to the dispensible material contained within the cabinet, the cabinet is iitted with concealed lighting located above the mirror.

The provision of washroom facilities in public places has always presented problems of what to provide, particularly in view of the high rate of spoilage, breakage and pilfering which normally takes place, all of which runs into high upkeep costs. Where various individual items are mounted separately on the walls, it is not uncommon for these items to be ripped oft the wall not only representing a replacement cost but often involving considerable cost in repairing of the wall itself. This repair is particularly high Where a number of individual items are involved, sometimes necessitating a complete wall repair.

The present invention has for its primary object the concentration of recognized washroom facilities into one unit and in such a manner that the unit itself cannot readily be removed and the individual facilities contained in the unit are themselves protected against damage and pilfering.

A further object ofthe invention is to provide a washroom unit, the wall mounting of which is completely concealed and cannot be tampered with by unauthorized persons.

A further object of the invention is to provide a washroom unit having a locked dispensing cabinet holding various washroom items dispensible in the usual manner but which cannot be removed in bulk from the cabinet.

A further object of the invention is to provide a washroom unit from which various items can be dispensed freely while the dispensers themselves are protected against damage or removal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a washroom unit which can be embedded in a nished wall in such a manner that it can be readily removed from the wall without disturbing the finish of the wall.

A further object of the invention is to provide a washroom unit having a dispensing cabinet into which any selection of dispensers can be fitted.

These and other objects will be apparent from the 2 following speciication and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the washroom unit showing the lid of the dispensing cabinet partly open.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the washroom unit mounted on a wall structure and showing the wall finish projected outwardly of the rear surface of the unit.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the lower end of the unit with the front wall of the dispensing cabinet removed to expose the various sections of the cabinet and the dispensing units installed therein.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 showing a roll of paper towels loaded in a dispensing chamber and threaded through a dispensing throat.

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section of the top end of the washroom unit showing the method of hanging the unit on the wall and also showing the concealed lighting member. t

Fig. 6 is a partial vertical section showing in detail the location of the screw holding the unit against displacement from its hanger and the isolation of the screw by the locked dispensing cabinet cover.

Fig. 7 shows in chain dotted line the outline of the unit and the location on the Wall of the unit support bracket and the position of a terminal box to which the concealed lighting of the unit is connected.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectiomalview of the unit support bracket.

Fig. 9 is a view'similar to Fig. 3 but-showing folded.l paper towels in one section of the dispensing cabinet and a roll of toilet paper in another. l

Fig. l0 is a vertical cross section on the line 10-10` of Fig.r9. t A

Fig. 11 is a vertical cross section on the line` 11-11 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 but showing a double, multifold towel dispensing compartment.

Referring to the drawings, the washroom unit 5 is formed from sheet metal and is composed of a rear member 6 and a front member 7. The rear member 6 is relatively shallow in depth and is in the form of an inverted U whose side members 8 and top member 9 are of formed channel. The front member 7 has a solid back wall 10 the full size of the washroom unit and the side edges ofV the sheet are cut at an angle and turned outwards to form the side walls 11, while the top edge of the sheet is turned outwards at 12 and downwards at 13 to`form the concealed light trough 14. The concealed light trough is' held rigid and is blocked off at the sides by the side walls 11.

The front leg 15 of the channel shaped rear member 6 is welded or otherwise permanently secured to the back 'wall 10 of the front member 7 to form the rear chamber 16 which is completely sealed olf from the outside, except for its bottom edge, when the unit is mounted on the wall. By having the bottom edge of this rear compartment 16 left open, a certain amount of air circulation can take the drawings and receives in its U-shaped trough the top rear leg 22 of the channel shaped rear member 6. The

top rear leg 22 is set forwardly slightly with respect to.

the vertical side legs 22a in Vorder that the side legsn-fZAZtr Patented June 7, 1960 so that ,thegbracket :.1721 cannotibe interfered ,with whenv the cabinet is in place on the wall.

Ardispensingcabinet 23.is?.formed:of1side wallsjr24; and

front wall 25. and-,a shorttop wall. 26;.. Iflherside,wallsflft and top wall 26;are,turned into form. anges :27.wl1i'ch are welded to ther'back wall 10. A cover 28- is :hinged at 29 to the'vfront edgeoftheshorttop wall 26. The cover 28 is provided with a locking plate30, turnedl in at 31 against which the.zbolt;32of the. lock V33 bearsv tovv hold the cover 28 in its closed position when the key 33a Vis turned in the lock. This locking plate 30 is so located on the cover 28 that theY intume'cledge 31 normallycontacts the upper vedge ,of the front;walli25 when the cover is being closed and requires. slight;pressure inwards y.to allow the cover 28 to be closed. The locking plate 30 therefore acts as a spring against the frontxwalll 25,Y holding the cover tight and taking up any tendencyl for slack Vbetween the lock bolt32 and the frontwall v25.

The back wall and the flange 27 are pierced, at. 34 to receive the screw 35 which is fastened intothe wall19 for the purpose of holding the unit V5 steady and against lifting out of: its engagement with the bracket 17. The screw 35 when tted, is enclosed by the dispensing cabinet 23 and cannot be interfered with' unless thecover 28 is unlocked.

In mounting the unit 5 on thewall, it is preferable that a wall plate 36 be mounted ,oni the wall structure or studding 191 andthe bracket 17;be. secured to thewall plate 36. This wall plate 36 can be of steel, lwood. or any otherv suitablernaterial and the.screws-20' and 35 would be of `a type suitable for the wallY structure selected.

The concealed light trough 14 houses the terminal box 37 carrying the light bulb 38. The horizontal depthy of the light trough 14 is just sufficient to allow fitting andv withdrawing of the light bulb 38 which is Vpreferably of the hot incandescent type normally used in show cases, rather than the uorescent type, -as-` the incandescent type will be a deterrent to anyone attempting to pilfer the light. The top andfront surface. of the light trough i4 are perforrfltedv at 14a to give ventilation to the trough with the heat of the lamp 3S inducing a circulation of cool air upwards. in front of the mirror 42. The perforations` 14a may take the form of a sign which could be projected bythe lamp 38 onto the ceiling or wallofthe washroom. The wiring 39 is carried through the armoured conduit 40 in the rear compartment 16 for connection to the wall outlet not shown.

-A mirror 42 is set in a channel frame 43 which is fastened to the rear wall'10 by means of the studs 44 and nuts 45, the studs 44 being Welded or otherwise secured.

to the rear surface of the channel frame 43.

The dispenser cabinet 23 is divided into suitable compartments and in Fig. 3 the compartment 46 houses a drinking cup dispenser 47. The clearance between the top of the dispenser 47 and the cover 28 is such that the dispenser cannot be pushed up from below a suihcient distance for the dispenser 47 to be disengaged from its wall bracket 48. The compartment 49 is provided with a bottom closure vplateStl on which rests a roll of paper towel 51 and Vis, provided with a tension roller 52 over which the towel is passed-and guided into the dispensing throat 53. TheY front and,v rear walls of the throat 53 are provided with slots54 to allowa finger grip on the towel threaded through the throat53 for the purpose of pulling thetowelout andthe lower edge of the throat 53 is notched at 55. to catch vthe towel and start the cutting as the towel `is pulledsidewaysbelow the throat 53. A soap dispenser 56 is mounted in the compartment 517. This compartment 5 7Y isopen at the bottom to allow free access to the dispenser but here again the clearance between the top of the dispenser 5,6 and the coverA 28 will not allow tht-,dispenser 56 to be lifted out of its mounting bracket 58.

. The front wall 25 of thedispenser cabinet 23..,is provided with the ared slot 57a to give added access to the soapV dispenser 56. The compartment 59 can be used for miscellaneous articles and is here shown having a perforated bottom plate 60 supporting a tray 61 supporting a compressed block or open bottle of disinfectant 62.

In Fig. 9 an alternative arrangement of the dispenser cabinet is shown in which the compartment 62 is provided with a dispensing tray 63 resting on the angle brackets 64 and carrying .single'fold towels 65. A toilet roll 66 is carried on the bracket 67, which is mounted in the compartment 68. The arms 69 of the bracket 67 are bent outwards at 70 against the side walls of the compartment 68 to prevent the arms 69 from being spread outwards in order to pilfer the toilet roll 66 through the open bottom of the compartment. Rolls of toilet paper 66 can be easily replaced when the cover 28 of the dispenser cabinet is raised by swinging the bracket 67 up so'that the outwardly bent portions 70 are clear of the side Walls, of the compartment allowing the arms 69 tofbe spread apart suflciently for replacement of the roll 66. In Fig. l2

the towel compartment 62 is shown as having a double` dispensing plate 71 having two compartments 72 and 73 carrying multifold towels 74. Other forms of towel dispensing can be installed such as automatic dispensers which dispense a fixed length of towel each time the towel end. is pulled out.

Each and every one of the compartments of the dispensing cabinet 23' can be modified to carry some other requisite .required in a washroom, each of which can be protected against pilfering in the manner shown by so mounting the dispensing items within their compartments that they are protected by the locked cover 28 even should the compartments be open at the bottom of the cabinet for dispensing purposes.

The wall finish 75, whether of plaster, tile or of other types, is made to come relatively close to the outline of the washroom unit 5 along the bottom and sides of the unit, while` along the top edge of the unit, the wall finish is j'ustV sufficiently clear of the unit to allow it to be fitted down onto its mounting bracket 17. By nishing the wall in this manner the rear edge of the unit is hidden and cannot be got at in order to pry the unit: from `the wall. Although there is a gap between the top edge. of they unit andthe nished wall this is generally above eye level and cannot be seen.

After the unit 5 has been mounted on its wall bracket 17 and is secured in place by the screw 35, it is thoroughly4 protected. against unauthorized removal by locking the dispensing cabinet cover 2S. In this manner the complete washroom. unit 5 and its contents are protected against' pilfering and damage to the dispensing equipment.

What I-claim is:

In a wall cabinet, a sheet metal structure comprisingY said top wall forming a concealed hanger member forl said wall cabinet,l the said front wall having its top edge projecting forwardly and downwardly to form a concealed lighting trough over the front surface of'saidfront wall, a dispensing cabinet mounted on the lower portion of the front surface of said front wall, a top cover for said dispensing cabinet, said top cover being hingedly mounted on said front wall, a locky securing'said hinged cover: to said dispensing cabinet in the closed position of the cover, saidV dispensing cabinet having a series of dispenserreceiving receptacles accessible from the bottom ofsaidv dis-I` pensing cabinet, the said dispenser receiving receptacles being ysealed otf at thetopby said hinged cover, thegportion of the front wall of the shallow rear compartment enclosed by the said dispensing cabinet being perforated to receive a mounting screw, and a mounting screw inserted through the perforated front wall, said screw being accessible through said dispensing cabinet when said hinged cover is opened and adapted to secure the said wall cabinet in its wall mounted posit-ion.

References Cited in the le of this patent 1,569,459 Colbert etal Ian. 12, 1926 welsh July 26, 1910 1 6 Pick Aug. 9, 1927 Genest Apr. 3, 1928 `Bottker et al May 8, 1934 Frederickson May 11, 1937 Clemens Jan. 12, 1943 Allen Apr. 10, 1945 Wilkins Nov. 19, 1946 Pitchford Apr. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Nov. 8, 1951 France Mar. 19, 1945 

